Ball-bearing door hinge



. KI BALL July 29, 1930.

F.. l. KIMBALL.

July 29, 1930- BALL BEARING DOOR HINGE Re.l 17,748

2 Sheets-Sheet Z Original Filed Jan. 24. 1924 f! /JVV l lill Reissued July 29, 1930 UNITE-Dp: STATizsA Re.. ima

PATENT; orge-1 ce;

RANK .I. KIMBALL, OF WEST VIIVEIT, GONNECTICUT, l-LSSIGrlI'OIt TO SARGENT & COM- i PANY,\F NEW HAVEN, .CONNECTICUT BALL-BEARING Doon HINGE Original ANo. 1,580,257, dated April 13, P1926; Serial No. 688,22,"1ed-January 24:,y 1924. Application for i reissue filed October 14, 1952?; Serial No.f226,2532

This .inventionrelates to hinges, and more particularly'to that type of the same usually referred ,to asa butt hinge, such as is commonly used in connection with the hanging of doors, As usually madesuch hinges coniprise a pair lof leaves attached to vthe door frame and door, `the leaves being provided with knuckles having aligned openings through which a hinge pin is passed, thedoor swinging aboutrthe axis of this pin. Such hinges are subject-to the-,disadvantage of rusting orcorroding yso that they work less easily than when ein good conditionand moreover are quite liable to lmake an objectionable4 noise or squeak when the door is moved.`

Onel objectv 'of my invention is to overcome thedisadvantage referred to` above and providefa door hinge whichcwill operate easily atV allftimes,.andwhich will -be practically noiselessln operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hinge of thischaracter with ball bearingswhich beantheweight' o f the door so that theparts of the hinge will move with greateryfreedom andv less friction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a new rand f improved method of mounting the ball bearing races in the hinge' v so that they will be mounted securely in place,

in an economical, simple and effective man- Fig. et is a composite view Vshowing the' mannenof assembly ofthe parts.v

The particular hingevvhich I have selected-Ito illustrate and describe, comprises a pair of' leaves. lOvand 11, one ofv which is adapted to be connected to the door frame and they other to the door or object to be hingedly supported. The leaf 10 as shown, is provided with the knuckles l2, 13 and 14, and the leaf l1 with theknuckles l5 and 16 which are` designed tobe received between the knuckles upoir the leaf 10. All of the knuckles, as shown iii-Fig. 2are provided with `aligned openings through which may 4be passed the hingepin 17 to secure the two According tov parts ofthe hinge together. the usual practice, the door or swinging object may then be moved about the axis of the hinge pin, and uponvthe removalof this pin the-door may readily be removed from the y frame.

In order to provide Igreater freedomiof actionfor the parts of the hinge and reduce.

frictionas far as lis practicable, Imount adjacenteach end 4ofthe knuckle 13 a ball bearing, one'ofwhich visadaptedto receive and sustain rthe weight of rthe door depending upon the position'inwhich vthe hinge is used.

Thesel ball bearings. comprise upper and lower races' .A18and 19, between which are mounted the usualY steel ballsiQO', the entire strueture'of the bearing being seated in a cup shaped support V271.- lTo secure the bearings 1n position adjacentthe ends of the Aknuckle A13, Il insert withiny the bore of this vknuckle a sleeve 22as shown more particularly in F ig. 4. The sleeve is slightly longer than kvthe-knuckle so that its Vends project above andi below theupper `and lower edges ofthe knuckle. It-wil'l, ofcourse, be understoodthat t-lie sleeve is cylindrical in shape when placed 'in position with its ends in alignment with thebody thereof, as shown at the uppery edge of the knucklefin thefigure referred t y j, The cupf21 comprisesa body portion providedgwith an-interior'wall formed with a slight bevel adjacent Vthe bottom of the cup cavity, asshown atriilbove' this beveled portion the cup wall, asoriginally made, and prior to the assembly of the parts, is substantially vertical, assliown at 23a ofFig. 4. The bottompoitionf of the cup is provided with a centralopening 25. The edge of this opening may be beveled, 4as shown at Y26, so

as to flarek outwardly and Aupwardly to assist y f in securing the cup in position.

The cup is placed uponthe` upper face of the knuckle 13 with the end off-the sleeve 22 projecting "into the opening`25 and the wall of the sleeve at the projecting end thereof is flared out wardly as shown at 27, so as 'to overlie the v beveled edge 26 of the opening.;y It will be apparent that the cup shaped container 21 will be effectively secured in position in this manner. Preferably the projecting portion of the sleeve 22 isv suiiiciently short so that its upper edge, after beingfflared outwardly in the manner described, will lie flush with or below the iiiteriorbottom surface 28 of the cupv 21', so as not to interfere with the proper assembling of the `remaining parts of the structure. i

The -ball bearingfconsisting of the two races 18 and 19 andtheballs 2O is nextnserted in the container 21, and it inaybenotedthat the edges of the races 18 and 19 are slightly tapered, as shown at 29and 30.v The lower` race 'is designed'to litsn-ugly in the lower tapered portion 23 of the cup 21. After the bearing hasvb'een placed inthe cup, the upperv edge'of thelatter may be displaced inwardly to aslight extent by any suitable operation,

such as spinning,` for example,y so as to em` brace the taperededge 30 ofthe race 181and i hold the bearing against displacement. y y It will be apparent. that I have provided a f simple andfecononiical method ofy securing the ball bearings in position and that both of thebearings at the opposite edges of -'the knuckle 13 are heldin` placeby thev same sleeve 22 `in an effective manner. Not only a'rethe bearings 'held in place `effectively' butl they 'are adapted for free and frictionless operation, as the reinaining-pa'rtsof the structure donot', inany way, interferewith the y rotation. of the bearing races. The outer edge L of the outermost' race Apreferably projects slightly ybeyond the edge of the `cup 21 soy that the'knuckle oftheleaf 11 will contact j therewithand willbe kept yfree fromengage nient with the edge ofthe cup. f

VVhile I 'have shown and described ya` preferred; embodimentl ofiny invention, it Will jbe y understoodthatu it isnot tov beflimited toall the` details,` shown, but is capable of f niodifcationjand variation within .the spirit j. ofthe invention and Within scope of the appended claims."

lVhatl claim `1 i j LA, hinge yof the character" described, provided j with leaves having inter-engagingy l` nucl ;les,j;` bearing container positioned y at loneredge ofl one of the knuckles, means engagedf-v-directly f with-,1,y the container` and the,

knuckle Lto'secure. the former in position ,and

ya bail bearing mounted in ysaidcontainer.

2.l A-hinge of the character described, provided with leaves having inter-engaging knii'ckles,l a `bearing-1,container positioned at one edge of one of the knuckles, means en gaged directly with the container and the knuckle to securethe former in position and a ball bearing mounted in said container and ysecured against removal therefrom.

j 3". A hinge of the character described, pro vided with leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, a cup-shaped bearing container po- I j sitioned at one edgeof one of the knuckles,

means engaged directly with the container and the knuckleto secure the former in position, and a ball bearing mounted in said cup shaped container.

4. A hinge of the character described, pro

vided with leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, a ball"y bearing unitpositioned'at the' end 'of o'neof said knuckles, saidunit coni- 1 arising a cup-,shaped bearing container and ball bearing races therein,` means engaging said container andthe knuckles to secure the 9 former in position, and means to secure thebearing races against'removal from said'con`M` tainer.

5; Ina door hinge, a pair lof'leaves having y inter-engaging knuckles, a cup-shaped bearing member secured upon one'edge of one off vlsaid knuckles andV having a bottom portionL lying against the surface of the knuckle and provided with an opening vregistering'with` the knuckle bore, a ball ybearing iiiountediiify, `said container and secured against removal i therefrom saidy bearin' com risinff' u er yand lower races and anti-friction membere'- between said races,and means vtofsecure said Y container tothe knuckle, comprising a retainico ing member secured in theiknuckle bore and -f projecting therefrom a Vdistance substantially equal to the 'thickness yofthe bottoni-"of the.l container, theprojecting end-` ofsaid member entering the opening in the'bottom of the conl -tainer and beingengagedlv withy thefwall of said opening below the bearing races. f

6. A hinge, including a leaf provided with y tainer mounted uponsaid knuckle, means se- Ia knucklehavin-g a bore therethrough,` a cony cured in thebore of said knuckle and engaged directly with the container to hold the latter in position, and afballV bearing mounted in j saidcontainer.

7.' `Adoor hinge, including a leaf provided with a` knuckle having a longitudinalfbore l therethrough, "a container disposed* at each;r

edge ofk the@` knuckle, 'a` `member passing through the bore of the 'knuckle and having its ends directlylengaged respectively withu said containers to secure them in position, and f a ball bearingmounted in keach ofi said con'- y tainers.

vided with a knuckle having a bore thereA through,y a cup-shapedcontainer seated upon the edge ofthe knu`ckle,th`e` bottom of said container abutting" the edge ofthe knuckle and' being provided withfan opening'regis-lteringlnwiththe bore ofthe knuckle, andfgn i 8. A; doorhinge,` comprising `afleaf pro-`r means secured in the bore of the knuckle and engaged with the bottom of the container to hold the latter in place, and a ball bearing mounted in the container.

9. A door hinge, including a leaf provided with a knuckle having a bore therethrough, a cup-shaped container positioned at each edge of the knuckle, the bottom of each of said containers abutting the edge of the knuckle and being provided with an opening registering with the knuckle bore, a sleeve mounted in the bore of the knuckle and having its ends projecting into the openings in the bottom of the containers, the wall of said sleeve at the ends thereof being displaced to engage the bottom of the containers to hold them in position, and a ball bearing positioned in each of said containers.

10. In combination, a door hinge including a leaf provided with a knuckle having an opening therethrough, a cup-shaped container positioned upon one edge of the knuckle, the bottom of said container being provided with an opening, the edge of which is beveled to flare in a direction away from said knuckle, a sleeve mounted in the knuckle and havinor its end projecting into the opening of the container, the wall of the sleeve at said end being flared outwardly to overhang the beveled edge of the container opening, and a ball bearing mounted in said container.

11. A door hinge including a leaf provided i with a knuckle, having a bore therethrough,

. a cup-shaped container positioned at each edge of the knuckle, each of said containers being provided with an opening having a beveled edge flaring outwardly in a direction away from the knuckle, and a sleeve mounted in the knuckle bore and having its ends projecting into the openings of the cont-ainers and there llared outwardly to overhang the beveled edges of said openings to secure the containers in place, and a ball bearing secured in each of said containers.

12. A hinge .of the character described, provided with leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, a bearing unit seated upon the edge of one of said knuckles, comprising a bearing container and ball bearing races operatively mounted therein, means secured in the bore of said knuckle and engaging said con- 'tainer below the bearing races to secure-the unit in place upon the knuckle.

13.-y A hinge of the character described, provided with leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, a bearing unit seated upon the edge of one of said knuckles, comprising abearing container and ball bearing races operatively mounted therein, a sleeve secured in the bore of said knuckle, and having its end engaged with said container below the bearing race to secure the bearing unit in position upon the knuckle.

14. A door hinge comprising a pair of leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, a bearing unit secured upon one edge of one of said knuckles, said unit comprising a cupshaped container containing bearing races With anti-friction members therebetween, and means for securing said bearing unit to the knuckle independently of said races.

15. A hinge of the character described, provided With leaves having inter-engaging knuckles, abearing container positioned at one edge of one of the knuckles, means secured in and projecting from the bore of the knuckle and engaged directly with the container and with the knuckle to secure the former in position, and bearing members mounted in said container.

16. A door hinge comprising a leaf provided with a knuckle having a longitudinal bore therethrough, a container disposed atv each edge of the knuckle, a member passing f through the bore Aof the knuckle and having its ends directly engaged respectively with said containers to secure them in position, and co-operating bearing members mounted in said containers.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 12 day of Oct., 1927.

FRANK I. KIMBALL. 

